The junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers
is where the town of Wentworth began. Capt Charles Sturt arrived
at the confluence 23rd January 1830, naming the Murray River
here after recognising the end of the Darling. James McLeod and
a Mr Bates made camp there around 1840 after explorers such as
Thomas Mitchell, in 1836, and overlanders, Joseph Hawdon &
Charles Bonney, in 1838 opened the way by using the junction as
a 'crossing' for cattle and sheep, to begin the “Sydney/Adelaide
Highway”.
Wentworth grew •in strength and prosperity during e Riverboat
era because of its position at the confluence of Australia's two
greatest rivers and the commencement of the grazing industry.
The Murray and Darling River system is the fourth largest river
catchment in the world – Wentworth is the confluence of all
rivers west of the Great Dividing Range
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